Elruar Mountains
The Nether Mountains once marked the boundary between the ancient human empire of Netheril and the ancient dwarven kingdom of Delzoun, which occupied all of the territory now known as Luruar and originally delved all the great dwarven cities of the North, as well as some of the human ones (most notably Sundabar). The dwarves are surprisingly okay with this.
In modern times, these mountains are overrun with orcs. Baraskur is a series of closely packed caves fortified together as one structure to serve as the stronghold of the Ripped Guts tribe of orcs, intermittently ruled over by the ghost of a long dead human sorceress who demands a host to possess every few years, a possession which can last anywhere from a few days to half a year. While possessed, the powerful sorceress directs the orcs to scour the Netherese ruins in the mountains for some lost item. In between possessions, the ghost is largely dormant and the orcs raid and fight with their neighbors.
Said neighbors are the Thousand Fists tribe of orcs, whose stronghold is a much more thinly spread series of caves called the Thousand Maws. These caverns are linked not by fortified out-buildings and ramparts but by runners who of this hoard, nor will they let anyone else do so. No one knows why the dragons come to Dalagar's Dagger to end themselves, and no one knows why the Morueme Clan don't claim the treasure for themselves (certainly they each maintain a hoard of their own, each in their individual caverns at the eastern edge of the Nether Mountains).
A monastery to Loviator, goddess of pain, overlooks the Everlund Pass at the far west of the Nether Mountains. Ordinarily such a tiny outpost would not merit mention, but its strategic location means that it could be used, were its inhabitants so inclined (or killed and replaced by those who are), to interdict trade between Silverymoon and Everlund, which would seriously damage the economy of all Luruar (and the dwarven citadels) as practically all trade that isn't completely internal goes through Silverymoon to Everlund and from there down to Waterdeep.
The Rauvin Mountains cut through the center of Luruar and the former kingdom of Delzoun. Three different orc tribes have taken up residence in these mountains, each one taking their name from their favored method of slaughtering hapless victims for Gruumsh: The Tornskulls, the Heart Takers, and the Red Fangs (the latter devour their victims alive). The foothills of these mountains are pockmarked by goblinoid strongholds.
A party sided with Silverymoon will have no shortage of colonists willing to push into the Moon Pass, nor will they be unable to find recruits to garrison Baraskur and the Thousand Maws. The trouble, then, is of course to actually capture these orcish strongholds and drive the orc tribes who inhabit them southwards. A party working against Silverymoon would need to seize control of one orc tribe or another, perhaps by exorcising the sorcerous ghost who regularly tyrannizes the Ripped Guts, and use them to destroy their rival. Either way, the Moruemes will have to be dealt with, and they very rarely fight alone. A similar strategy would have to be taken in the Rauvin Mountains, however this time there is no fertile valley which Luruar is eager to settle, which means the party will have to provide incentive or permanently garrison troops in the Rauvin Mountains to retain control after driving out the orcs and goblinoids. Alternatively, they could pick their favorite tribe and lead them to victory or unite the goblinoids and lead them in an uprising against the orcs who raid and extort them regularly for cannon fodder and slaves.
Further Reading
The Northern Marches remains firmly recommended for more details on these mountain ranges. The Nether Mountains in particular still have lost Netherese ruins hidden in them. While these are unlikely to prove critical to a sphere of influence due to their lack of strategic importance, a party might take a break from world domination to plumb their depths for personal wealth and magic items. In this case, Netheril: Empire of Magic is an excellent sourcebook to the ancient empire, and the sections of Lost Empires of Faerun dealing with Netheril may also prove useful. Although these books are old (Empire of Magic is from clear back in 2e), Netheril was already an empire thousands of years fallen when the setting was first released, so information on it from any real world year of publishing is all equally valid, as they are all dealing with a fallen empire (although it should be noted that some sourcebooks mentioning the Netherese are referring to their 15th century successor state, who are descended from the original empire but otherwise unrelated).
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